Appleseed Statement

DACA a necessary measure of security until Congress updates immigration laws 

Today, Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson attempted to justify his decision to join Nebraska onto a lawsuit threatening to end the highly successful Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

A collection of more than a dozen Nebraska organizations released this joint statement Tuesday in response:

“DACA is a commonsense program that is lawful, constitutional, and consistent with decades of actions taken by presidents of both parties dating back to the Eisenhower administration. There is no legal or moral justification to make Nebraska part of an effort to threaten hard-working young immigrant Nebraskans. However, it is important to recognize why DACA is necessary in the first place — to bring a measure of security to approximately 3,000 DACA recipients in our state and their families.

“Right now, there are thousands of young Nebraskans who are leading the regular, productive lives that everyone wants. They are going to work, attending school, and contributing to their communities in the only place they know as home. Until Congress takes the next critical step and allows young Nebraskans to earn eventual citizenship, programs like DACA are essential for Nebraska to continue to benefit from the contributions of our immigrant youth and keep our families united.”

The statement was signed by the following organizations: ACLU of Nebraska, Centro Hispano, Grand Island Latino Network, Heartland Workers Center, Immigrant Detainee Accompaniment Program, Justice For Our Neighbors-Nebraska, The League of Women Voters of Lincoln and Lancaster County, Nebraska Appleseed, Nebraska Latino American Commission, Nebraska Retail Federation, Schlegel Center for Service and Justice at Creighton University, Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community Justice Team, SUSO – Lincoln